Bleacher Report - Articles by nicolas boston

Spain Again: European Grand Prix Preview

nicolas boston — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 02:08:00 -0400

The F1 break that went forever is finally over. I once again have a reason to live on Sunday other than shopping for fresh produce at the right price at the South Melbourne Market (located right near the Albert Park track by the way, try the Dim Sims).

For the second time this year, the Formula 1 circus heads to Spain although this time it's Valencia for the European Grand Prix.

Much has taken place during the break; most importantly the short-lived return of Michael Schumacher. I can't help but feel Michael's return would have made 2009 the mother of all F1 seasons. We've missed out on something special here and it's never coming back...not ever.

Michael's neck was apparently not up to it, due in most part to his unsuccessful foray into the world of superbikes. He spent more time on the asphalt than the bike. Enough said.

Nelson Piquet was finally ousted from Renault. Not a moment to soon in my book. Piquet was outdriven anytime and all the time by big brother Fernando. Bring on some healthy competition in the form of Romain Grosjean. It's just plain unhealthy to consistently beat your teammate like that.

The self-satisfied go no further, and I can't help but wonder how much better Fern's driving could be with some healthy competition in Renault stable No. 2.

Looking ahead to Spain, It will be interesting to see if Lewis can repeat his winning Hungarian performance. Valencia is a relatively slow circuit with tight, twisty parts and as such is similar to the Hungaroring.

Given the enforced "tools down" holiday period, few updates are expected for the coming race, hence one could expect a similar order or success.

The Brawn team would've undertaken their fair share of mental visualisation in the break; no doubt praying that time away from the golf course will result in an improved showing. Tyres seem to be their key issue and warmer temperatures aren't playing into their hands as initially predicted.

The late charging Red Bull team are probably quietly confident about their chances. Mark's race could have been a lot better had he not made a bad middle stint tyre choice. Sebastian will be out for blood after another DNF which saw him lose a significant number of points to Mark.

The big threat for Red Bull is once again the KERS cars which are now dominating starts and doing much better in races, in particular Ferrari and McLaren.

Ferrari has been the quiet achiever in all this. Kimi's 2nd in Hungary has likely encouraged the fiery Italians. Fill-in man Luca Badoer is at this stage, a mystery bag and only time will provide us with an understanding of his racing constitution.

In relation to the best of the rest, expect to see Fernando overachieving in an under performing car and Nico Rosberg trying to improve his racing CV in the hope of landing a gig at McLaren.

I get the feeling Nico looks better than he is at the moment. Kazuki Nakajima is not a strong teammate and the Williams could be a better package than perceived. One thing's for sure, Lewis will make him look bad whatever team he's at!

My very safe prediction is that we'll see a couple of Red Bull's and a McLaren on the podium failing a messy start. Can't wait—enjoy the race!

130 Is Webber's Lucky Number: 2009 German Grand Prix

nicolas boston — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 22:10:57 -0400

Christian Horner: Well done Mark, you're a Formula 1 race winner!

Mark Webber: Yeeeeehaaa!! Yes! Yes!Yes!Yes!Yes!Yes!Yes!Yes!Yes!

To the casual observer, Mark Webber's radio transmission with team principle Christian Horner may have sounded somewhat like an over sugared minor being told they were going to see the latest Crocodile Dundee.

If you've taken even a slight interest in Webber's career however, you'd appreciate the enormity of his latest result and the significant weight that's no doubt been lifted from his shoulders. It's taken 130 races but Webber has finally won his first Grand Prix.

Webber's been on the F1 circuit for about 8 years now. Having started strongly with Paul Stoddart's Minardi team (at which time Australia thought they finally had a new F1 championship contender), all signs pointed to yes with his subsequent performance at Jaguar where he qualified a mid field car on the front row more than once.

Then came that ill-fated decision to join Williams, over Renault in 2005. Whilst Alonso went on to win two consecutive world championships, Webber suffered two years of unreliable cars, retirements and frustration, significantly devaluing his brand equity.

Although a positive move on face value, Webber's first two years at Red Bull again presented challenges. With a "sometimes quick" but mostly unreliable Newey designed car, his reputation was further salted as being strong over one lap but lacking in racecraft.

Adding to this, Webber is not the easiest of drivers to throw your energy behind and support. No racing pedigree, from a far-away land downunder with a small fan base and lacking the party boy pizzazz that many f1 drivers are known and loved for, Webber attracts little of the hype peers such as Vettel, Rosberg, Alonso and Hamilton received from their respective medias.

Speak to Webber's colleagues however, and they'll tell you it's no fluke that after 8 years he's still in F1. Webber's dogged persistence, work ethic and "no bull" approach has won the respect of many peers and given him the right to continue in the sport.

Finally now, in 2009 at the Nurburgring, Webber broke his winless drought. In true Webber style, he battled tooth and nail. After an OK start, he survived his swipe at Barichello and love tap with Hamilton (payback for Fuji 07?) on the first corner to settle in P2.

Things were almost too good to be true blue as he sat behind a much lighter Barichello, poised to overtake him for the lead in the first round of stops.

Then, (as all his fans no doubt expected), Webber's luck ran short. Webber was issued with a drive through penalty for his swipe at Barichello, effectively ending his chances of winning.

Quick thinking from the Red Bull camp saw Webber follow Barichello into the pits to take his drive through penalty. Taking advantage of the lead he and Barichello developed, Webber emerged in relatively clean air whilst Barichello emerged behind Kovalainen and Massa. Webber then banked a number of impressive times to re-build his lead to 12 seconds prior to his first of his scheduled two stops.

Webber emerged relatively unscathed in p6 and as cars came in for their first stops, he once again found himself at the front of the field and the rest is history!

Vettel drove a solid race, gaining two positions to finish second, whilst an openly surprised and grateful Massa found himself on the podium for the first time this year.

Brawn had another average race, finishing in positions five and six. The cold temperatures once again did not suit their cars which ultimately compromised their ability to challenge.

For the second time this year, Barichello openly expressed dissatisfaction at how he's being treated by Brawn. One has to question his longevity with such immature and emotive outbursts.

Lewis Hamilton was also surprisingly quick. Had he not overcooked it into turn one which lead to contact with Webber and a puncture, he would have finished strongly.

The season is definitely heating up, as we head to Hungary, no doubt Brawn is hoping the temperature does too!

Bring on Hungary!

Stone Cold in the Stone: 2009 Silverstone Grand Prix Analysis

nicolas boston — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:35:00 -0400

It's difficult to fathom that Jenson Button, having dominated the Turkish Grand Prix just two weeks prior, would have an incident-free Silverstone Grand Prix and yet, finish a paltry sixth.

Red Bull's dominance started in Practice one and finished on the checkered flag with Vettel a convincing first, followed by Webber (+15 secs) and Barichello (+20 or so secs).

Vettel drove a faultless race, which he was no doubt under pressure to deliver after mistakes in Turkey and Monaco cost him track positions and team points. That said, he not only won the race, but won from pole and had the fastest lap.

Webber delivered his usual "under the radar" performance. After a P3 qualifying effort that was "good without being spectacular," he salvaged his race by passing Barichello during the first round of pit stops to take second.

It's imperative that Webber beats Vettel in both races and qualifying sooner rather than later in order to avoid catching second driver disease which has taken the careers of other drivers such as Fisichella (Renault), Coulthard (McLaren), and Barichello (Ferrari & Brawn)!

Was Red Bull's success but a mere blip on the Brawn radar, or is it a more permanent sign of things to come? Depends who you ask really!

Brawn is adament that their less than average showing was caused by the cold temperatures Silverstone presented to them. This prevented their tyres (an area Brawn has always had a problem with) from reaching adequate running temperatures. As the season progresses and the average race temperature increases, they are confident performance will return.

Red Bull on the other hand, is convinced that Vettel and Webber's outstanding 1-2 performance was the result of much hard work and Adrian Newey's continued development of the RB5. Christian Horner believes that Germany and beyond will see the Red Bulls far in front.

What is certain is that whilst Brawn and Red Bull will remain at the front of the field, more prestigous teams like Ferrari and McLaren will struggle for podiums!

Bring on the German Grand Prix!

Turkish Grand Prix Revelations

nicolas boston — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 07:35:00 -0400

The 2009 Turkish Formula 1 Grand Prix was an incidentless (and crowdless) race. Even so, some significant conclusions could be drawn from its results.

Brawn GP still has the superior car
Jenson Button is Brawn GP's superior driver this year
Barichello has had more opportunities to win a championship than I've hot dinners and still he seems to be struggling!
The Red Bull's are strong, but not as strong as what Christian Horner made out.
Vettel's inexperience is starting to creep in. His lap 1 mistake in Turkey now means that out of seven races, mistakes have been made in three that have cost him points (spin in Malaysia and a crash in Monaco being the other two).
One could also start to paint a picture of Vettel's personality. One got the sense that he threw his toys down at the end of the race, having lost fair and square to his team-mate. In addition, light fuel loads in qualifying combined with him trying to get the fastest lap with a couple of laps to go point towards a man that feels the need to market himself heavily.
Mark Webber's experience (and perhaps some luck?) is showing in the results. Sensible fuel loads in qualifying may not give him pole position however have allowed him to take full advantage in the race. It seems that Webber and his crew have outstrategised Vettel thus far.
Toyota is back from the grave! Clearly short, twisty circuits such as Monaco do not suit the TF109.
Last year's title winner is this years potential wooden spooner. Who'd believe that Force India's entry was almost 15km quicker through turn 8 than Hamilton's McLaren?
Fillipe Massa's dream run in turkey (three wins in the past three years) came to an end.
Nico Rosberg finally turned some of that practice pace into a result for Williams.
Kimi's racing continues to reflect his personality...boring!
Piquet Jr was again out driven by Alonso. I'm guessing his wealthy, more successful father is paying for his seat!
Istanbul's days on the F1 circuit are numbered.

Silverstone in just under two weeks should be a more interesting race. It's the final time we'll see the F1 cars there as next year Donnington Park looks to be taking over.

Expect large crowds, showing up to see if Jenson Button can win on home soil. If it's wet, The Red Bull's will likely win given their superior wet weather handling.

Should things stay as they were in Turkey though, I dare say Jenson will be unstoppable!

Monaco Grand Prix: Webber's Opportunity Knocks

nicolas boston — Thu, 21 May 2009 08:11:14 -0400

It's been many years since Mark Webber had his dream start to Formula One back in 2002 with Minardi.

Since that glorious moment when every Australian F1 fan thought things were looking up, we've had nothing but disappointments, including bad starts (second to last in Malaysia) third degree burns (Japan '04), poor career decisions (Williams over Renault 2005), bad team strategy (Monaco '05), unreliable cars (FW025, FW026, RB3, RB4), vomit in helmets (Japan), overzealous sister teams (Vettel in Japan 07), spins (Silverstone of P2 in '08), electrical shortages due to tram tracks (Singapore) and of course those broken bones (leg and collarbone) in the offseason!

But now it seems, the stars may have aligned for our unlucky Aussie friend. Monaco 2009 may be Mark Webber's (who shares his surname with a carburettor) best opportunity to take home his first Formula 1 victory. Why so?

Webber has two podiums under his belt from four races hence his confidence is up. He has a high quality team mate in Vettel, whom he is fiercely competitive with and needs to beat in order to prove his critics wrong.

Most importantly, Webber has a real fondness for the technically challenging street circuit that is Monaco, having both qualified well and scored reasonable points there over the past few years.

Also, should all go to plan, the RB5 will be at it's strongest point for the season thus far. There have been reports that the RB5 will finally be running the much discussed double-decker diffuser which took longer to incorporate than on other cars due to Adrian Newey's innovative pull rod suspension design.

The double diffuser represents a significant performance gain which most teams implemented by Spain.

With all that said, based on his past track record I think it's best to keep my hopes and dreams under control and expect nothing from my fellow Aussie.

He's just as likely to be abducted by aliens, hit by an asteroid or eaten by a stray shark that wanders onto the Monaco track!

After 60 Years in F1, Ferrari Says "Ciao"

nicolas boston — Wed, 13 May 2009 07:54:03 -0400

Ferrari today announced that they do not intend to enter the 2010 Formula One Grand Prix Championship should the FIA's proposed regulation changes go ahead.

The Prancing Horse joins a growing list of teams, including Toyota, BMW, Red Bull, and Torro Rosso that are dissatisfied with FIA chief Max Mosley's ever-changing rulebook.

Of most concern is the proposed option in 2010 for F1 teams to voluntarily cap their spending at 40 million pounds (not including driver salaries and a bunch of other costs). Any team that opts for the cap is rewarded with a broader creative mandate in relation to car design, including an allowable adjustable rear wing (worth two seconds a lap).

The debate as to whether to standardise cars, or allow teams total creative flair is a long running one. Offering teams total creative license promotes true innovation which in turn, benefits the road cars on which the sport is supposed to be based.

Standardisation and cost regulation provide affordability to both teams and the tracks at which they race, but at what cost? We might as well be watching the A1GP.

A little PLAIN in Spain? Spanish Grand Prix Review.

nicolas boston — Sun, 10 May 2009 09:20:00 -0400

Last night I fell asleep and dreamt of a cockney flower girl by the name of Eliza Doolittle. Eliza was taking elocution lessons from a man of stature in hope of becoming a true lady of society. If I recall correctly, Eliza was singing a song that went along the lines of "the race....in Spain, was just a little plain".

The Circuit De Catalunya has never been considered a passing track, nor an exciting race. It's a high downforce circuit with some fantastic sweeping double apex corners. The drivers are required to continually adjust steering and throttle to navigate through these tricky corners.

Catalunya is the first race back in Europe and is often considered the race that separates the men from the boys for the rest of the season. As I mentioned though, not a great race for the crowds.

One hand is all I need to count the points of note.

The first lap crash. Nico Rosberg (who for a moment, thought he was back in formula 3000), forced Trulli from the road. Trulli hit the grass, subsequently oversteered back into the traffic and smashed into Sutil. The two Torro Rosso's were then forced to play a little leap frog hence ending their race too.
Webber & Alonso's Melee - On the restart, Webber got a little wheelspin out of the final corner. Alonso jumped on his KERS and passed a defending Webber via the pit Exit. Webber had his second bout of "I've been passed rage" (similar to him re-passing Button in the wet on the outside in China) and re-passed Alonso under-brakes at the end of the straight - move of the race (and only move)
Jenson Button's strategy change - Brawn decided to run Jenson on a two stopper, allowing him to leap frog the leading Barichello who was on a three stopper. Very entertaining to watch the usually happy Barichello red faced and angry in the post-race press conference.
Mark Webber's strategy change - some effective work from Webber's strategists; who ran him much longer on the middle stint than originally planned. Webbo came out of the pit behind the one stopping Hamilton and Nick Heidfeld. As Webbo was heavier than a Jeff Buckley album, being on the bum of H&H was not of huge concern; once Hammo and Heidfeld entered the pits, it allowed Webber the free air he needed to put in some fast laps on the softs. I counted at least six laps where he was two seconds a lap quicker than Vettel and Massa, who were running the harder compounds. This gave him the advantage to stay ahead of Massa and Vettel.
Massa running out of fuel - A problem with Massa's refuel meant his car was light on fuel. His engineers were heard telling him to conserve fuel in order to make the checkered flag. Massa ended up having to do the last seven-odd laps two seconds or so slower than race pace. This allowed Vettel and Alonso to easily pass him. Massa was seen (post finish) walking away from a his very empty car!

The Spanish GP allowed Button and Brawn to extend their dominance of the Formula 1 championship thus-far. Red Bull are holding on for dear life in second and Mark Webber's second trip to the podium means he has marginally closed the gap to his team mate Vettel.

Monaco, which favours cars with high levels of mechanical grip should be a much more interesting race... God knows we need it after the "locamotive" that was the Spanish Grand Prix!

How Do You Say "Update" in Spanish? Spanish GP Preview

nicolas boston — Tue, 05 May 2009 02:57:00 -0400

It's been almost two weeks since Button won the Bahrain F1GP and we now head to the serious part of the grand prix calender - Europe.

Europe's where it all stared. It's birthplace to pedigree manufacturers like Ferrari, BMW, Mercedez and Renault. More importantly it's home to all the F1 teams!

This weekend's Spanish grand prix will likely provide much insight into the remainder of the season. Brawn, Toyota and Red Bull, who have been the pace-setters in the first four races will face intensified competition from the powerhouses that are Ferrari and McLaren.

With the gap between races, it's likely we'll see some significant car updates; double diffusers will be commonplace and teams will begin copying the ingenuity of their competitors (such as Williams copying Red Bull's rear-wing endplates).

BMW Sauber has surely prayed each night to the upgrade gods..("Please lord, bring me thy balance combined with better corner speed").

McLaren and Renault have no doubt further refined their double diffuser designs whilst Ferrari is one of the only teams to stick with KERS and to have been quoted stating that it offers a "clear advantage".

The lack of certainty in relation to a title contender is making 2009 a spectacular formula one season. Can Brawn keep the advantage? Will Vettel, combined with Newey's brilliance prevail? Or will McLaren and Ferrari stamp their dominance once more?

Like a Bull to Water: Horner's Wet Bulls Pray for Rain

nicolas boston — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 00:32:00 -0400

I'm not one to speculate, but I reckon a little rain dancing might be taking place in Red Bull's Milton Keynes factory as we near the Spanish F1 Grand Prix.

I've even heard through the grapevine that British customs reported a notable rise in the number of Native Americans entering England, bound for Milton Keynes.

Malaysia (Webber 6th but was moving up the field when the rain came) and Shanghai (Vettel 1st, Webber 2nd) demonstrated that the Bulls are superior handling cars in wet weather, due in most part to their impressive levels of mechanical grip. Jenson Button was even quoted saying that "he couldn't get near the Red Bulls in the wet".

In the short term, this means Red Bull's results are likely to be good in races that end up being reasonably wet.

Even better news for Red Bull is that mechanical grip is harder for teams to improve upon than aero grip. Unlike aero grip—where new parts can be bolted on willy-nilly—mechanical grip is derived from the car's chassis and suspension. Improvements require wholesale changes to the car's structure.

In short, Red Bull's relative advantage should remain for quite a few races.

Add to the mix a double-decker diffuser, combined with a few other bits of Newey brilliance, and Red Bull may start to give Brawn trouble in the not-so-wet races.

2009 Bahrain GP: Brains and Brawn...and Button

nicolas boston — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 21:28:00 -0400

Jenson Button drove a great race to win the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Now I've got that out of the way, let's talk about the first few laps, which I can only describe as spectacular; by far the most exciting part of the race.

We're at an amazing point in the Grand Prix timeline thanks to a series of wholesale changes to car design. In particular, we have two distinct car types, those running Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems ("KERS"), and those who are not. It seems (at least for the moment), that the have-nots are much better off than the haves.

Whilst KERS cars typically have better acceleration and are heavier, cars without KERS are lighter and faster than crap off a stick around corners.

KERS provides an additional 80 horses by storing energy created when braking. The extra 80 is stored in a (really heavy) battery and can be used at driver's discretion. In fact, the battery is so heavy that Kubica and Webber have developed eating disorders so as not to be disadvantaged when competing agains shorter, lighter drivers.

This all makes for great racing. As the red lights vanished we saw Hamilton execute a perfect start, passing Vettel and Button for third. Although Button re-passed Hammo in the subsequent lap under brakes, Vettel struggled to do the same, in turn destroying his chance for a win. Webber had similar issues further down the field as he struggled to pass Piquet on the start finish straight.

It's these vastly different car characteristics that's making f1 racing more exciting than a 1 carat diamond is to my current squeeze - particularly the opening laps!

F1FTO Out

2009 Bahrain GP: Car Weight Issues

nicolas boston — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 01:40:00 -0400

Well done to Bernie & Co. for allowing the disclosure of provisional Formula 1 car and driver weights post quali, pre-race!

I'll save you the team by team summary in relation to the provisional weight listings for the Bahrain Formula 1 Grand Prix as I think we've all seen enough of that analysis!

Red Bull's claim that the Toyota's were running lighter than air itself was accurate.

Kubica's car has less balance than a one legged drunk and as such he's filled his car to the absolute brim.

It's interesting to see that Mark Webber has opted for a relatively light fuel load. It seems he's keeping his car fast in order to pass the back-runners with conviction. I think this will be a good test of Webber's true passing ability. If all goes well and he doesn't crash, mechanically fail or get abducted by aliens, he should see some points.

Oh, and one last thing... When are they ditching young Piquet? The guy's had more chances to prove himself than I've had showers... I reckon Flavio would do a better job in the car at present!

F1 Qualifying Format: Messier Than Doggies Breakfast?

nicolas boston — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 20:27:30 -0400

Ever seen a swarm of angry wasps? It ain’t pretty and the scene reminds me somewhat of F1’s qualifying format.

Seems to me that the question “is there a perfect qualifying format” is up there with “what is the meaning of life”.

Einstein spent many of his latter years working on F1 qualifying

Over the years we’ve seen a number of different qualifying formats, such as the current knockout system, the hot lap system (1 car out at a time giving it their best), and even having two qualifying periods in which all cars could try and set their fastest laps at any point over the two periods.

Once again we see a scenario at the Bahrain GP where a very fast car (Red Bull) driven by Mark Webber (the unluckiest man in F1) is at the rear of the grid, due to a very slow car blocking him. Mark was on a competitive lap which would have secured his place in qualifying session 2, however Adrian Sutil of Force India intentionally blocked him to ensure his subsequent hot lap was not damaged.

Unlike with Massa in Sepang, where he thought he’d done enough to secure a spot in Q2, Mark was the victim of the system. I can’t help but feel a need for a judicial mechanism that allows such instances to be immediately rectified, so as not to ruin one man’s race on account of another.

Bahrain Grand Prix: Who's Gonna Win?

nicolas boston — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 03:23:50 -0400

Interesting question and I'm glad you asked.

A man once told me you're only as good as your last win. This may be true in most sports, but in Formula1, you're only as good as the new parts due to be bolted on your car, here in lies the big question mark. As more teams add double diffusers, it will be interesting to see who has the pace in the sandy Bahrain desert. In Shanghai, Red Bull, Brawn and Renault dominated qualifying whilst it was clearly Red Bull's day in the very wet race.

Red Bull seems to have the most mechanical grip available on their car at present, which unlike aerodynamic grip, favours wet conditions. Think of mechanical grip as what the suspension and tires do to keep a car on the road, aero grip comes from air travelling over the car pushing it down to the ground.

Red Bull's high mechanical grip explains why they are the only non double diffuser team to be performing well, the RB5's mechanical grip is superior to the diffuser cars in turn balancing their respective performance advantages out.

Unfortunately for Red Bull, it doesn't rain often in Bahrain. Expect to see the two Brawn's near the top of the tree followed closely by Toyota, Glock set fastest lap in Shanghai.

: Do YOU come with the car??

Based on the respective success of updates, I have a strong feeling we'll see Hamilton and Alonso up near the top. Should Alonso decided to qualify light, as in Shanghai, there's no reason why he shouldn't perform well.

The McLaren, also relying on aero grip should do better with new double diffusers in Bahrain. Bahrain is a circuit with fast straights and slow corners, so you might find cars relying on aero grip and will have lower straight line speed.

Where Ferrari lies is anyone's guess. They have performed poorly to-date but with their huge development budget, they may have a double diffuser ready for Bahrain and start to be competitive again.

So who do I think will win?

I think it will be the very smooth Jenson, followed by Barichello, Alonso, Vettel, and Webber.

Out.